Originally posted by Toad
You guys make an assumption here, ie: the suicide bombers really believe that "72 virgins" stuff.
Has the Israeli "pig fat" idea actually decreased the rate of bus bombings? I sure don't now.
However, if they're not sending their "best and brightest" to do the suicide bombing... and I suspect they send their slowest, dumbest and most mentally challenged (or maybe they have in flagrante delicto pictures of them with the"Pigboy Sow of the Month" if you catch my drift).... then this idea may not work.
First off, I don't think the Israelis ever went through with the Pig Fat idea because for one thing, devout Jews aren't too fond of the substance either.
Secondly, I really don't think it takes an Islamic scholar to believe in this concept--quite the contrary, actually. Anyone enthused by the idea of giving their life is clearly hoping for something better on the other side, because why do it if all you're gonna get is dead? If they're indoctrinated enough to be so certain of paradise(the 72 virgins is but one interpretation of the concept of heaven, and not widely accepted. Heaven, on the other hand, is universal to any Muslim), which, again, doesn't require brains so much as blind devotion, then they're probably also familiar with the hatred and fear of pork products--which quite basic in Islam.